Colorado's Affordability Problem May Become a Legacy Problem

Demand is overwhelming Colorado's housing supply. In part due to the availability of well-paid tech and oil jobs, more people are moving to a state that recently had one of the biggest decreases in housing affordability in the nation.

Rental, home, and land prices are increasing. Researchers from Colorado State University and Shift Research Lab found the average value of land with apartments on it is up 250 percent since 2010 in Denver's metropolitan region. Home values in gentrifying neighborhoods rose roughly 70 percent between 2013 and 2015, CNN reports.

Federal funding sources, which have been flat or declining in recent years, also don't stretch as far when housing costs rise. The Denver Housing Authority says it has access to 6,800 federally funded housing vouchers, but has only been able to dispense 6,000 of them, because each one costs more when rents are high.

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